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Forget blue collar. Green collar may be the more appropriate descriptor for the construction trainees at the Wilmington-based Challenge Program, who for the next four months will be hard at work on an Eco House, soon to become the centerpiece of the new Delaware Children's Museum.
More than $200,000 in pass-through federal grant money has been awarded to the Challenge Program through New Castle County to train 18 Wilmington youths in green construction as part of the program.
The Challenge Program, which is based on 7th Street in Wilmington near the Kalmar Nyckel, trains at-risk youth between the ages of 18 and 24 in the construction trades, then places them with contractors throughout the region with job openings. The unemployment rate at that age is 16 percent, nearly double Delaware's overall rate.
"We find these guys do really well when you get them busy and working in a shop better than in a classroom, kind of like I was," said Andrew McKnight, executive director of the Challenge Program. "It's something we can put a lot of work into that otherwise probably wouldn't be affordable. It's a very labor-intensive process where we'll build an Eco House."
Indeed, the high-efficiency interactive model home will feature energy-saving technologies, low-flow plumbing fixtures and be constructed completely from recycled or sustainable materials. The Challenge Program will enhance its standard construction-training curriculum (math, safety and basic construction theory) with additional methodology specific to building a green exhibit.
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Support the Challenge Program The $206,000 grant supports the green training portion of the Challenge Program, but private donations go a long way toward funding other components. In fact, one-third of the program's income comes from donors. To support the Challenge Program, checks can be mailed to: The Challenge Program, 1124 E. 7th St., Wilmington, DE 19801. |
"[This program] is so richly deserving of public investment and will lay the foundation for a lifetime of constructive employment and of meaningful progress for these young men," said County Executive Chris Coons. "In some ways what we're doing here is going back to the future: back to what apprenticeships meant."
Julie Van Blarcom, executive director of the Delaware Children's Museum, said the project would benefit more than just the trainees.
"The kids that visit the Delaware Children's Museum are going simply love the end result of this partnership," she said. "Our kids are going to have an opportunity to learn first-hand what green construction really means."
Forget blue collar. Green collar may be the more appropriate descriptor for the construction trainees at the Wilmington-based Challenge Program, who for the next four months will be hard at work on an Eco House, soon to become the centerpiece of the new Delaware Children's Museum.
More than $200,000 in pass-through federal grant money has been awarded to the Challenge Program through New Castle County to train 18 Wilmington youths in green construction as part of the program.
The Challenge Program, which is based on 7th Street in Wilmington near the Kalmar Nyckel, trains at-risk youth between the ages of 18 and 24 in the construction trades, then places them with contractors throughout the region with job openings. The unemployment rate at that age is 16 percent, nearly double Delaware's overall rate.
"We find these guys do really well when you get them busy and working in a shop better than in a classroom, kind of like I was," said Andrew McKnight, executive director of the Challenge Program. "It's something we can put a lot of work into that otherwise probably wouldn't be affordable. It's a very labor-intensive process where we'll build an Eco House."
Indeed, the high-efficiency interactive model home will feature energy-saving technologies, low-flow plumbing fixtures and be constructed completely from recycled or sustainable materials. The Challenge Program will enhance its standard construction-training curriculum (math, safety and basic construction theory) with additional methodology specific to building a green exhibit.
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Support the Challenge Program The $206,000 grant supports the green training portion of the Challenge Program, but private donations go a long way toward funding other components. In fact, one-third of the program's income comes from donors. To support the Challenge Program, checks can be mailed to: The Challenge Program, 1124 E. 7th St., Wilmington, DE 19801. |
"[This program] is so richly deserving of public investment and will lay the foundation for a lifetime of constructive employment and of meaningful progress for these young men," said County Executive Chris Coons. "In some ways what we're doing here is going back to the future: back to what apprenticeships meant."
Julie Van Blarcom, executive director of the Delaware Children's Museum, said the project would benefit more than just the trainees.
"The kids that visit the Delaware Children's Museum are going simply love the end result of this partnership," she said. "Our kids are going to have an opportunity to learn first-hand what green construction really means."
